{"id":1813,"date":"2022-08-01T17:30:32","date_gmt":"2022-08-01T09:30:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stllawreview.com\/?p=1813"},"modified":"2022-08-04T18:59:19","modified_gmt":"2022-08-04T10:59:19","slug":"the-export-of-the-chinese-railway-bill-of-lading-system-a-milestone-in-chinas-global-rule-making","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stllawreviewblog.com\/index.php\/2022\/08\/01\/the-export-of-the-chinese-railway-bill-of-lading-system-a-milestone-in-chinas-global-rule-making\/","title":{"rendered":"The Export of the Chinese Railway \u201cBill of Lading\u201d System: A Milestone in China\u2019s Global Rule-Making?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Zhang Huiyu \u5f20\u60e0\u5b87 Peking University School of Transnational Law<\/p>\n

Table of Contents<\/span><\/p>\n

ABSTRACT<\/strong> 2<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

INTRODUCTION<\/strong> 2<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

SECTION I. Development of the \u201cRailway Bill of Lading\u201d System: from domestic practice to international proposal<\/strong> 5<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

A.<\/strong> Starting Point: Chongqing Practice and Sichuan Practice constitute the \u201cdual-track\u201d of the Chinese railway \u201cbill of lading\u201d system<\/strong> 5<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

1. Chongqing Practice: The Innovation of Unimodal Railway Bill of Lading<\/strong> 6<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

2. From Sichuan Practice to CIFA Bill of lading: The Development of Chinese Unified Railway Forwarder Bill<\/strong> 9<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

B. Turning point: The domestic legalization of the \u201crailway bill of lading\u201d<\/strong> 11<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

C. Current Point: The Internationalization of the Chinese railway \u201cbill of lading\u201d System<\/strong> 12<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

SECTION II. International Impact of the \u201cDual Track\u201d System<\/strong> 14<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

SECTION III. Conclusion<\/strong> 15<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/a>ABSTRACT<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Since the first whistle of China Railway Express (\u201cCRE\u201d), Sino-Europe overland trade development has stepped into a new phase. As most Chinese trading small and medium enterprises (SMEs) face financing difficulties, China developed a novel railway \u201cbill of lading\u201d transport document system to alleviate the overland trade financing burden. With the far-reaching ambition of reshaping global railway transport practice, the Chinese government later proposed its idea of building a \u201crailway bill of lading\u201d legal system internationally. <\/span><\/a>This article, therefore, concentrates on analyzing whether the export of the Chinese \u201crailway bill of lading\u201d represents a milestone in the Chinese government\u2019s attempt to transform international norms into ones that better reflect China\u2019s priorities. By reviewing the way in which the Chinese \u201crailway bill of lading\u201d was created, this article observes that this system serves as the fruit of central-local collaboration to create new international norms that align with Chinese interests. Then, by tracking the impact of the Chinese railway bill of lading proposal internationally, this article concludes that this proposal seems to have reached a \u201ctemporary victory\u201d in serving China to get a head start on the global reform of the railway transport document legal system.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/a>INTRODUCTION<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/a> As key carriers for China-European overland trade, railway transport is of vital importance to the Chinese government\u2019s strategic blueprint of forming a \u201cnew style\u201d of international relations in global governance[1]<\/a><\/sup>. <\/span><\/a>In 2013, President Xi Jinping initially introduced the Belt and Road Initiative[2]<\/a><\/sup> which epitomizes the Chinese government\u2019s ambition for global governance – \u201ctak[ing] an active part in leading the reform of the global governance system\u201d[3]<\/a><\/sup> to better reflect China\u2019s values. The essence of the BRI is to promote the connectivity of the Asian, European, and African continents and form a novel economic community where China has greater discourse power. <\/span><\/a>With the advantages of being cost-effective and its excellent cargo capacity, the \u201crailway\u201d becomes an essential element in building the new Silk Road.[4]<\/a><\/sup> Railway transport, therefore, has a unique position in China\u2019s reform of global governance because of its impact on Sino-Europe overland trade.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nonetheless, SMEs\u2019 inability to gain financing greatly restrains the development of rail-freight trade volume. <\/span><\/a>The Ministry of Commerce of the People\u2019s Republic of China (\u201cMOFCOM\u201d) expressly stated that the shortage of SMEs\u2019 liquidity restricted trade volume growth along with the CRE. SMEs\u2019 difficulties in financing directly stem from the absence of a \u201cbill of lading\u201d in cross-border overland transportation, particularly by train.[5]<\/a><\/sup> <\/span><\/a>Due to special features of international trade such as time-consuming transportation, SMEs tend to adopt a \u201cletter of credit\u201d financing model in which the foreign buyer\u2019s bank guarantees the payment once the exporter forwards the required \u201cbill of lading\u201d to the exporter\u2019s bank as proof (see fig. 1).[6]<\/a><\/sup> <\/span><\/a>Neither rail-freight importers nor rail-freight exporters can obtain any bank financing in advance, considering that current railway consignment notes cannot serve as proof acceptable to Chinese banks because exporters lack property rights.[7]<\/a><\/sup> Due to the absence of bank financing, overland trading parties have to adopt the primitive barter business model in which the exporter cannot receive the payment until the importer receives the goods. The inability to finance, therefore, dramatically increases the exporters\u2019 risk of collecting payments.[8]<\/a><\/sup>Accordingly, the absence of the \u201cbill of lading\u201d in the railway transport document system hampers overland trade along with the CRE, given that most CRE clients are Chinese export companies[9]<\/a><\/sup>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Figure 1:Business model with Bill of Lading<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Figure 2: Business Model with Railway Consignment Note<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/a> Under this background, China developed its own railway transport document system to realize the idea of a railway \u201cbill of lading\u201d\u2014a unified railway transport document that serves as a document of title acceptable to banks. Seeking to have a central role in global governance, the Chinese government presented several international proposals for its innovative railway \u201cbill of lading.\u201d Although the promulgation of the \u201crailway bill of lading\u201d is still in the process both domestically and internationally, this article will:<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. <\/a> Highlight the joint efforts of local governments, commercial actors, and the judiciary in creating the railway \u201cbill of lading\u201d system.<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Assess how well the Chinese government\u2019s proposals are received internationally.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    <\/a><\/a><\/a>SECTION I. Development of the \u201cRailway Bill of Lading\u201d System: from domestic practice to an international proposal<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

    The development of the Chinese railway bill of lading system was not achieved overnight but through persistent efforts of central government guidance, local government implementation, and judicial support. The birth of the \u201crailway bill of lading\u201d system began with the practice of Pilot Free Trade Zone (\u201cFTZs\u201d). Multiple government and railway commercial actors, including but not limited to the Ministry of Commerce of the People\u2019s Republic of China (\u201cMOFCOM\u201d), China State Railway Group Company Ltd., and China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (\u201cCBIRC\u201d), jointly contributed to the design and the promotion of the \u201crailway bill of lading.\u201d[10]<\/a><\/sup> Meanwhile, judicial support led by the Supreme People\u2019s Court (\u201cSPC\u201d) played an important role in the legal aspects of the \u201crailway bill of lading.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

    The following parts will:<\/span><\/p>\n

      \n
    1. <\/a> Review the history of the development of the Chinese railway \u201cbill of lading\u201d system.<\/span><\/li>\n
    2. Analyze the multiple roles of local governments, railway commercial actors, and judiciary in the formation process.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Starting Point: Chongqing Practice and Sichuan Practice constitute the \u201cdual-track\u201d of the Chinese railway \u201cbill of lading\u201d system<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

      No railway transport document can function as a maritime \u201cbill of lading\u201d that facilitates financial settlement. <\/span><\/a>Railway consignment notes and multimodal transport documents constitute the dual-track railway transport document system to facilitate the regular operation of the international railway carriage of goods. Railway consignment notes dominate the sector of unimodal railway transportation. Multimodal transport documents, on the other hand, are widely used in cross-border multimodal transportation that uses or coordinates at least two modes of transport, including but not limited to sea carriage, railway transport, and air freight, under one single transport contract. Nonetheless, in the regime of overland trading, neither of them can function as a negotiable document acceptable to banks because the holder lacks property rights.<\/span><\/p>\n

      China, therefore, developed its dual-track railway \u201cbill of lading\u201d system that invests both \u201crailway consignment notes\u201d and \u201cmultimodal transport documents\u201d with contractual-based property rights. <\/span><\/a>\u00a0 On the track of unimodal railway transportation, the Chongqing pilot Free Trade Zone (\u201cChongqing FTZ\u201d) created the \u201crailway bill of lading.\u201d What makes it unique is that its underlying contractual agreements embody property rights. This unimodal \u201crailway bill of lading\u201d works together with a traditional railway consignment note: the former is solely used for financing, whereas the latter continues to work as a transport document and serves the purpose of customs clearance.[11]<\/a><\/sup> Along the track of \u201cmultimodal transportation,\u201d the Sichuan Pilot Free Trade Zone (\u201cSichuan FTZ\u201d) explored the possibility of forming a \u201crailway forwarder bill\u201d that serves as a document of title for railway carriage of goods. Meanwhile, the China International Freight Forwarder Association (\u201cCIFA\u201d) moved the concept a small step forward by announcing its own multimodal bill of lading (\u201cCIFA B\/L\u201d) to serve as a standardized railway forwarder bill that naturally embodies qualities of a document of title.<\/span><\/p>\n

      <\/a><\/a><\/a>1. Chongqing Practice: The Innovation of Unimodal Railway Bill of Lading <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

      The birth of the Chongqing Pilot Free Trade Zone (\u201cChongqing FTZ\u201d) dates to 2017 when the State Council released the General Plan of the Chongqing Pilot Free Trade Zone, <\/em>which included a request to\u00a0Chongqing to \u201cfoster international combined transport by railway.\u201d[12]<\/a><\/sup> The Chongqing local government subsequently promulgated its Regulations of China (Chongqing) Pilot Free Trade<\/em> and reiterated that Chongqing FTZ should \u201cstrengthen regional cooperation, and actively promote the application of property rights of railway transportation documents (\u81ea\u8d38\u8bd5\u9a8c\u533a\u5e94\u5f53\u52a0\u5f3a\u533a\u57df\u5408\u4f5c\uff0c\u79ef\u6781\u4fc3\u8fdb\u94c1\u8def\u8fd0\u8f93\u5355\u8bc1\u7269\u6743\u5316\u7684\u63a8\u5e7f\u5e94\u7528) .\u201d[13]<\/a><\/sup><\/span><\/p>\n

      The essence of the Chongqing FTZ\u2019s unimodal \u201crailway bill of lading\u201d is to create a contractual-based railway transport document that embodies the right to delivery and, therefore, can serve as a negotiable document acceptable to banks. On 22 Dec. 2017, with the joint efforts of multiple parties, Chongqing FTZ launched the world\u2019s first \u201crailway bill of lading\u201d (see fig. 3 below) to facilitate Chongqing Zhongji Auto-Trading Co. Ltd.’s import of cars from Germany.[14]<\/a><\/sup> In this case, <\/span><\/a>Chongqing Zhongji Auto-Trading Co. Ltd. was the importer. Chongqing Logistics Financial Service Co. Ltd.(\u201cCLFS\u201d) and state-owned Sino-Trans Chongqing Logistics Co. Ltd. functioned as the consignee. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Chongqing branch (\u201cICBC Chongqing branch\u201d) served as the issuing bank. They reached an agreement to embody their unimodal railway transport document with property rights and have it serve as the sole negotiable document. Based on that agreement, the ICBC Chongqing branch agreed to issue a letter of credit whenever the importer deposited a 20% margin. CLFS provided shortfall payment guarantees and default guarantees.[15]<\/a><\/sup> Meanwhile, Sino-trans Chongqing Logistics Co. Ltd., the actual carrier, launched the \u201crailway bill of lading\u201d under the supervision of CLFS.\u00a0 Some German banks have also recognized the Chongqing FTZ\u2019s unimodal \u201crailway bill of lading\u201d functioning as a letter of credit.[16]<\/a><\/sup><\/span><\/p>\n

      CLFS played the central role in this Chongqing \u201crailway bill of lading\u201d financing model. As the only state-owned financial service institution approved by the Chongqing local government, CLFS took the lead in encouraging the importer, the issuing bank, and the consignee to reach a four-party agreement. More specially, CLFS persuaded the issuing banks to accept the settlement with a \u201crailway bill of lading\u201d by directly providing guarantees on behalf of importers[17]<\/a><\/sup>and permitting the import to use the \u201crailway bill of lading\u201d as a counter-guarantee[18]<\/a><\/sup>.<\/span><\/p>\n

       <\/p>\n

      \"\"<\/a>
      Figure 3: Business Model with Chongqing FTZ’s Railway Bill of Lading<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

      The Chongqing government served as the \u201cshadow\u201d supporter behind CLFS. In 2017, the Chongqing government granted special permission to support the establishment of the CLFS,\u00a0 intending it to become the leader in innovating railway transport document financing.[19]<\/a><\/sup> From the perspective of the banks, this special permission signals that the CLFS has the implicit guarantee of the Chongqing government.[20]<\/a><\/sup> Benefitting from the Chongqing government\u2019s implicit endorsement, CLFS reached letter of credit agreements with eight banking institutions, including the Bank of China, the ICBC, and the China Merchants Bank, and signed strategic cooperation agreements with 20 important financial companies such as China UnionPay.[21]<\/a><\/sup><\/span><\/p>\n

      Meanwhile, railway commercial actors, such as the China State Railway Group Company Ltd. and the Bank of China, also supported the domestic reform of railway consignment notes. In Dec. 2017, the People\u2019s Bank of China Chongqing Operations Office and nine relevant departments jointly issued the Guidance on Railway Bill of Lading Financing<\/em>, marking the first time that a railway bill of lading was recognized as a letter of credit.[22]<\/a><\/sup> In 2018, the State Council expressly allocated the responsibility to the CBIRC, the National Railway Administration of the People\u2019s Republic of China (\u201cNRA\u201d), and the China Railway Corporation to provide further support for innovating railway consignment notes.[23]<\/a><\/sup><\/span><\/p>\n

      <\/a><\/a><\/a> 2. From Sichuan Practice to CIFA Bill of lading: The Development of Chinese Unified Railway Forwarder Bill<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

      While developing a unimodal \u201crailway bill of lading,\u201d national policies initiated the innovation of the multimodal \u201crailway forwarder bill\u201d with the aim of \u201cimproving the financing model of the international railway bill of lading and making it play a better role in international trade.\u201d[24]<\/a><\/sup><\/span><\/p>\n

      Different from unimodal railway consignment notes, a multimodal freight forwarder transport document naturally embodies a right to delivery but merely when the multimodal transport includes a maritime segment.[25]<\/a><\/sup> The key issue is to \u201ccreate\u201d a multimodal transport document that can function as a document of rights regardless of the mode of transportation.<\/span><\/p>\n

      (1) Sichuan Practice: Contractual-based Rail Forwarder Bill<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

      National policies initiated the innovation of Sichuan FTZ\u2019s multimodal bill of lading. Launched in 2017, Sichuan FTZ targeted \u201cinnovating legal framework of unified multimodal transport legal system.\u201d[26]<\/a><\/sup> Like the unimodal \u201crailway bill of lading,\u201d Sichuan FTZ\u2019s multimodal rail forwarder bill also relies on the four-party agreement among the importer, the logistic financing platform, the multimodal transport operator (MTOs), and issuing bank.[27]<\/a><\/sup> The agreement embodies a \u201crail forwarder bill\u201d that is a document of rights. Regardless of slight differences such as the percentage of margin the importer needed to deposit, both Chongqing FTZ and Sichuan FTZ adopted a similar idea to embody the original railway waybill with a contractual-based nature as a document of rights.<\/span><\/p>\n

      Meanwhile, local government and commercial actors jointly promoted the innovation of a multimodal railway forwarder bill. Like the Chongqing government, the Sichuan provincial government supported the establishment of Chengdu International Railway Port Investment Development Group (\u201cCIPI\u201d). [28]<\/a><\/sup> As a state-owned enterprise, CIPI played a similar role to CLFS. Both aimed to build an integrated financing service platform that supports overland trade, particularly by railway. Different from CLFS, CIPI also guided the direction of the multimodal railway forwarder bill strategy.[29]<\/a><\/sup> With the implicit guarantee of the Sichuan government, China Railway Chengdu Group Co., Ltd. cooperated with the Bank of China Sichuan Branch to launch the Pilot Rules on Building \u201cOne Document\u201d International Letter of Credit System<\/em>[30]<\/a><\/sup> and issue the world\u2019s first international letter of credit based on the form of multimodal railway forwarder bill in 2018.[31]<\/a><\/sup><\/span><\/p>\n

      (2) CIFA B\/L: Standardization of the Unified Multimodal Railway Forwarder Bill<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

      Based on the Sichuan FTZ\u2019s contract-based \u201crailway forwarder bill,\u201d CIFA moved one small step ahead and focused on standardizing the unified multimodal railway forwarder bill. Under the guidance of MOFCOM, CIFA actively innovated the unified multimodal transport bill of lading.[32]<\/a><\/sup> Following Sichuan FTZ\u2019s pattern, each \u201crailway forwarder bill\u201d needs to reach a new four-party agreement and therefore is inefficient. With the support of MOFCOM, CIFA announced its own standardized railway forwarder bill\u2014CIFA B\/L, and piloted it among Chongqing, Chengdu, and other FTZs national wide.[33]<\/a><\/sup><\/span><\/p>\n

      The essence of the CIFA B\/L is a \u201cmodel contract.\u201d Once parties agree to use CIFA B\/L, they expressly accept and agree to all standardized provisions as an inherent part of this bill of lading.[34]<\/a><\/sup> CIFA B\/L strictly complies with the Management Measures on International Multimodal Transport Bill of Lading.<\/em>[35]<\/a><\/sup> Compared to the existing International Federation of Freight Forwarders (\u201cFIATA\u201d) B\/L or Sino-Trans Limited B\/L, CIFA B\/L evolved in two ways: (1) CIFA B\/L naturally embodies the right to serve as a document of title regardless of the mode of transportation it contains[36]<\/a><\/sup>; (2) CIFA explicitly clarified that the authorization terms of CIFA B\/L are also applicable in the case of unimodal railway transport.[37]<\/a><\/sup><\/span><\/p>\n

      Similar to the Chongqing FTZ\u2019s \u201crailway bill of lading\u201d and the Sichuan FTZ\u2019s \u201crailway forwarder bill,\u201d the innovation of CIFA B\/L also benefits from multi-sector cooperation. MOFCOM encouraged CIFA to <\/span><\/a>accelerate the development of a \u201csingle document\u201d multimodal bill of lading system and extend the application of its CIFA B\/L.[38]<\/a><\/sup> While designing this standardized bill of lading, CIFA continuously sought advice from the SPC as well as the China Maritime Arbitration Commission to better integrate CIFA B\/L with the current industry standard of the multimodal bill of lading SB\/T10800-2012\/ISO.[39]<\/a><\/sup><\/span><\/p>\n

      <\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>B. Turning point: The domestic legalization of the \u201crailway bill of lading\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

      As the Chinese highest court, the SPC shoulders the duty to provide judicial guarantees and support for essential government initiatives.[40]<\/a><\/sup> In 2019, the SPC expressly mentioned its role to \u201cpromote the improvement of international multimodal transport document and cross-broader railway transport document legal system\u201d (\u4fc3\u8fdb\u5b8c\u5584\u56fd\u9645\u8d27\u7269\u591a\u5f0f\u8054\u8fd0\u3001\u8de8\u56fd\u94c1\u8def\u5355\u8bc1\u7b49\u56fd\u9645\u7269\u6d41\u89c4\u5219) in its Opinion on Providing Further Services and Guarantees for the Belt and Road<\/em>.[41]<\/a><\/sup> Besides actively cooperating with MOFCOM[42]<\/a><\/sup>, the SPC mainly fulfilled its duty through releasing model cases.<\/span><\/p>\n

      The SPC frequently uses model cases to fill gaps in legislation and to provide guidance to lower courts. [43]<\/a><\/sup>In the case of \u201crailway bill of lading,\u201d the SPC recognized the property nature of \u201crailway bill of lading\u201d provided by contractual agreement in its model case Fuqi (Chongqing) Motor Sales Co., Ltd v. Chongqing Sino-trans Logistics Co., Ltd. (<\/em>Fuqi case).<\/em>[44]<\/a><\/sup> The plaintiff was a domestic car dealer that signed the IMSA Auto-Sales Contract with Yingfeng Co., Ltd, the importer of the cars, and received the \u201crailway bill of lading\u201d launched by the defendant, Chongqing Sino-trans Logistics Co., Ltd. before the actual arrival of vehicles. Complying with the Chongqing FTZ\u2019s mechanism of \u201crailway bill of lading\u201d (see fig. 3), Yingfeng Co., Ltd, the CLFS, and the defendant, Chongqing Sino-trans Logistics Co., Ltd., reached an agreement to recognize the property nature of \u201crailway bill of lading\u201d issued by the defendant. Nonetheless, the defendant refused to hand over the goods regardless of the plaintiff\u2019s possession of the \u201crailway bill of lading,\u201d therefore the plaintiff filed suit.[45]<\/a><\/sup> The legal issue of this case is whether the possessor of the \u201crailway bill of lading\u201d who is not the importer that signed the agreement has property rights over the goods. The Primary People\u2019s Court of Chongqing Liangjiang New Area court approved the property nature of the \u201crailway bill of lading\u201d and recognized the transfer of \u201crailway bill of lading\u201d as a special form of indication delivery.[46]<\/a><\/sup><\/span><\/p>\n

      National policies steer the court\u2019s approach towards the \u201crailway bill of lading.\u201d The SPC, in its rationale of the model Fuqi <\/em>case, expressly emphasized the special meaning of the \u201crailway bill of lading\u201d as the fruit of the BRI overland trade.[47]<\/a><\/sup> It stated that the courts should therefore respect the autonomy of trading parties to invest railway waybill with a property right, considering the agreement itself does not violate any compulsory provisions of law or administrative regulations or any public social interests.[48]<\/a><\/sup> At the first session of the 2021\u00a0<\/span>China Railway Express law forum, Judge Pingyang Danke of the SPC\u2019s #4 Civil Division re-emphasized the vital strategic importance of the \u201crailway bill of lading\u201d as embodying China\u2019s needs and willingness to make innovations to the international railway transport document legal system.[49]<\/a><\/sup><\/span><\/p>\n

      <\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>C. Current Point: The Internationalization of the Chinese railway \u201cbill of lading\u201d System<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

      The railway \u201cbill of lading\u201d innovation has paid off through years of domestic development. Since 2018, the central government has tried to promulgate this Chinese innovation of the railway \u201cbill of lading\u201d internationally through the joint efforts of the NRA and MOFCOM.<\/span><\/p>\n

      NRA took the lead in internationalizing the unimodal \u201crailway bill of lading.\u201d The current legal system of unimodal railway transport document has been long divided into two independent regimes: most European countries together formed the Intergovernmental Organization for International Carriage by Rail (\u201cOTIF\u201d) in 1893 and signed its first Convention concerning International Carriage by Rail<\/em> (\u201cCOTIF 1980\u201d), whereas most socialist countries initially signed the Agreement on Direct International Goods Transport by Rail <\/em>(SMGS) in 1951 whose members later formed the Organization for Co-operation Between Railways (\u201cOSJD\u201d). China joined the OSJD in 1953. One fundamental difference between CIM and SMGS is their approach to the idea of the \u201cbill of lading.\u201d Article 6 under the Uniform Rules concerning the Contract for the International Carriage of Goods by Rail appended to COTIF expressly states that a railway consignment note cannot function as a bill of lading[50]<\/a><\/sup>, whereas SMGS does not address this issue. To fill up this blank, NRA represented the Chinese government to appeal to set up an Ad Hoc Working Group on the issue of documents of title to railway carriage of goods twice at the OSJD Ministerial Conference.[51]<\/a><\/sup><\/span><\/p>\n

      As to the track of innovating multimodal transport documents, MOFCOM worked on promoting the international legislation on multimodal transport documents. Different from the unimodal railway transport regime where COTIF and SMGS serve as dominant rules, there are no binding international conventions in the sector of multimodal railway transport. The United Nations Convention on International Multimodal Transport of Goods (the \u201cMMT Convention\u201d) could have fulfilled this blank space but failed due to the insufficient number of ratifications.[52]<\/a><\/sup> Instead, the UNCTAD\/ICC Rules for Multimodal Transport Documents form the current basis of multimodal transportation practices. However, given its contractual nature, the UNCTAD\/ICC rules are binding only when both sides of the transport contract agree to adopt the rule.[53]<\/a><\/sup> In 2019, MOFCOM submitted the \u201cProposal by the Government of the People\u2019s Republic of China on UNCITRAL\u2019s Future Work: Solving the problems of railway consignment notes which are not of the same nature as documents of title\u201d at the 52nd <\/sup>session of the UNCITRAL Commission.<\/span><\/p>\n

      <\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>SECTION II. International Impact of the \u201cDual Track\u201d System <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

      Considering the absence of enforceable law in the sector of international multimodal transport, the promotion of\u00a0 a \u201cmultimodal bill of lading\u201d evolved much more smoothly compared to the innovation of a \u201crailway bill of lading\u201d under dominating COTIF or SMGS legal systems.<\/span><\/p>\n

      Despite NRA\u2019s efforts, the promulgation of the \u201crailway bill of lading\u201d is still proceeding cautiously. In 2019, the OSJD approved Chinese advice of forming an Ad Hoc Working Group concerning the property nature of the railway consignment bill. This Ad Hoc Working Group, led by the Chinese government established in 2020 with three main tasks: (1) analyzing the relevant international experience of embodying railway consignment notes with property rights; (2) identifying bottlenecks of creating a \u201crailway bill of lading\u201d under current SMGS legal system; (3) drafting amendments of SMGS to solve the issue of SMGS notes not capable of functioning as a document of title.[54]<\/a><\/sup> Despite NRA\u2019s initial achievement of progressing \u201crailway bill of lading\u201d under SMGS notes, there is no progress in promoting the \u201cbill of lading\u201d reform under the OTIF unimodal railway transport regime.<\/span><\/p>\n

      Comparatively speaking, UNCITRAL showed greater interest in the proposal of the Chinese government. The proposal suggested UNCITRAL adopt a unified, negotiable multimodal transport document to solve the problems of the railway or other consignment notes that cannot function as a document of title. UNCITRAL subsequently held one High-Level Symposium with the support of the Chongqing local government (also known as \u201cthe Chongqing Symposium\u201d) and one Expert Group Meeting where China formally introduced its \u201cdual-track\u201d approach of forming the \u201crailway bill of lading\u201d system to worldwide experts representing OTIF, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (\u201cUNCTAD\u201d), the International Commerce Chamber Banking Commission and other relevant international organizations.[55]<\/a><\/sup><\/span><\/p>\n

      Nonetheless, China is not the only proposer. The expert group under United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (\u201cUNECE\u201d) also worked on this issue. Starting from 2011, UNECE has worked on legislating and revising the unified railway law (\u201cURL\u201d) that 37 transport ministers already signed with the aim of \u201cestablishing unified legal conditions for railways.\u201d[56]<\/a><\/sup> This expert group under UNECE\u2019s working party on rail transport presented a proposal to add a novel type of negotiable transport documents that naturally embodied document of rights, namely a \u201cconsignment bill,\u201d[57]<\/a><\/sup> into the original URL. Both UNECE\u2019s \u201cconsignment bill\u201d and China\u2019s multimodal railway forwarder bill adopt a similar, contractual-based solution to solve the issue of current railway consignment notes not capable of serving as a bill of lading, indicating the high tension in leading the unified railway transport document innovation.<\/span><\/p>\n

      <\/a><\/a><\/a>SECTION III. Conclusion<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

      This railway \u201cbill of lading\u201d system is the fruit of the Chinese government\u2019s central-local coordination in pursuing the unified goal of reshaping international railway transport norms. The whole system is designed to create a railway transport document that can independently serve as a negotiable document acceptable to banks for alleviating Chinese SMEs\u2019 financing difficulties. The central government steered the direction of this innovation to serve Chinese interests better. Stimulated by national policies, the local governments initiated the innovation of the \u201crailway bill of lading\u201d and \u201crailway freight bill\u201d through regional market-based practices. Railway commercial actors engaged in the innovation process, according to national guidance. The judiciary provided the needed support. Once the local government\u2019s pilot practice succeeded, the central government took up the baton to promote the railway \u201cbill of lading\u201d mode internationally to transform current railway transport document norms in a way that better aligns with Chinese interests.<\/span><\/p>\n

      The export of the Chinese railway \u201cbill of lading\u201d therefore epitomizes the Chinese government\u2019s ambition to reflect China\u2019s best interests through global rule-making. The proposal of both the unimodal \u201crailway bill of lading\u201d and the unified multimodal \u201crail forwarder bill\u201d received a certain degree of receptive international responses. Because of the incompatibility with the dominant COTIF railway consignment note regime, the promotion of unimodal \u201crailway bill of lading\u201d encountered a greater obstruction. By contrast, the international actors warmly welcomed the Chinese government\u2019s proposal of drafting an international instrument concerning negotiable multimodal transport documents such as the Chinese \u201crailway forwarder bill.\u201d Part of the reason for that is the current regulatory vacuum concerning multimodal transport. However, a far more crucial justification is that this proposal not merely serves China\u2019s best interests but also conforms to the international appeal for a unified railway transport document system.<\/span><\/p>\n

      Nonetheless, the Chinese government still encounters European competitors in contending for the principal role in this new legal regime. The export of the Chinese railway \u201cbill of lading\u201d therefore serves as a perfect gambit for the intensified competition over the emerging unified railway transport document legal system. The future is too early to be predicted.<\/span><\/p>\n

        \n
      1. See Ben Blanchard, Xi says China must lead way in reform of global governance<\/em>, Reuters, 23 June 2018, https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-china-diplomacy-idUSKBN1JJ0GT<\/a> . \u2191<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n
      2. See Hu Biliang, Belt and Road Initiative: Why, What and How, 15 May 2018, http:\/\/belt.china.org.cn\/2018-05\/15\/content_51319227.htm#:~:text=From%20an%20overall%20point%20of%20view%2C%20the%20Belt,and%20is%20therefore%20an%20initiative%20of%20strategic%20significance<\/a>. \u2191<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n
      3. See Xi urges breaking new ground in major country diplomacy with Chinese Characteristics<\/em>, Xinhua, 24 June 2018, http:\/\/www.chinadaily.com.cn\/a\/201806\/24\/WS5b2eceb4a3103349141de698.html<\/a> . \u2191<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n
      4. See Gramer Robbie, All abroad China\u2019s \u2018New Silk Road\u2019 Express<\/em>, Foreign Policy, 4 Jan. 2017, http:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2017\/01\/04\/allaboard-chinas-new-silk-road-express-yiwu-to-london-train-geopolitics one-belt-one-road\/<\/a> \u2191<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n
      5. See the Ministry of Commerce\/\u5546\u52a1\u90e8, \u201cThe reply to No. 7503 proposal of the Second Session of the Thirteenth National People’s Congress\/\u5546\u52a1\u90e8\u5bf9\u5341\u4e09\u5c4a\u5168\u56fd\u4eba\u5927\u4e8c\u6b21\u4f1a\u8bae\u7b2c7503\u53f7\u5efa\u8bae\u7684\u7b54\u590d, 08 July 2019, https:\/\/www.pkulaw.com\/chl\/26985be518a41d3ebdfb.html?keyword=%E5%95%86%E5%8A%A1%E9%83%A8%E5%AF%B9%E5%8D%81%E4%B8%89%E5%B1%8A%E5%85%A8%E5%9B%BD%E4%BA%BA%E5%A4%A7%E4%BA%8C%E6%AC%A1%E4%BC%9A%E8%AE%AE%E7%AC%AC7503%E5%8F%B7%E5%BB%BA%E8%AE%AE%E7%9A%84%E7%AD%94%E5%A4%8D<\/a> \u2191<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n
      6. See the International Trade Administration, \u201cMethods of Payment: Letter of Credit\u201d, Letter of Credit (trade.gov)<\/a>. \u2191<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n
      7. See Ajendra Srivastava, Carriage of Goods by Rail and Road. In: Modern Law of International Trade. International Law and the Global South<\/em>, Springer, Singapore, 2020, https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/978-981-15-5475-9_12<\/a> . \u2191<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n
      8. See Official Records of the General Assembly, Seventy-fourth Session, Supplement No.17(A\/74\/17), para.216. \u2191<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n
      9. See Lasserre, Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric, Huang L , Mottet R ., The Emergence of Trans-Asian Rail Freight Traffic as Part of the Belt and Road Initiative: Development and Limits<\/em>[J]. China Perspectives, 2020, p.50, https:\/\/www.google.com.hk\/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwiO5sGAj9P4AhWumVYBHZL0BTgQFnoECAIQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cefc.com.hk%2Fdownload.php%3Ffile%3Ddeb4b99d7bed1c4fecddc8835fc58a60%26id%3D100078282&usg=AOvVaw32FPG3hJEGyIgSZ6mNrD-o<\/a> . \u2191<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n
      10. See State Council\/\u56fd\u52a1\u9662, Notice of the State Council on Several Measures for Supporting the Deepening of Reform and Innovation in Pilot Free Trade Zone\/\u5173\u4e8e\u652f\u6301\u81ea\u7531\u8d38\u6613\u8bd5\u9a8c\u533a\u6df1\u5316\u6539\u9769\u521b\u65b0\u82e5\u5e72\u63aa\u65bd\u7684\u901a\u77e5<\/em>, Guo Fa [2018] No.38\/\u56fd\u53d1\u30142018\u301538\u53f7, https:\/\/www.pkulaw.com\/en_law\/8c600a255e8ed572bdfb.html?keyword=%E5%85%B3%E4%BA%8E%E6%94%AF%E6%8C%81%E8%87%AA%E7%94%B1%E8%B4%B8%E6%98%93%E8%AF%95%E9%AA%8C%E5%8C%BA%E6%B7%B1%E5%8C%96%E6%94%B9%E9%9D%A9%E5%88%9B%E6%96%B0%E8%8B%A5%E5%B9%B2%E6%8E%AA%E6%96%BD%E7%9A%84%E9%80%9A%E7%9F%A5<\/a> . \u2191<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n
      11. See Yang Linping\/\u6768\u4e34\u840d, A Synergistic Innovation Mechanism to Jointly Develop Railway Bill of Lading and Railway Waybill\/\u4e00\u5e26\u4e00\u8def\u80cc\u666f\u4e0b\u94c1\u8def\u63d0\u5355\u4e0e\u94c1\u8def\u8fd0\u5355\u7684\u534f\u540c\u521b\u65b0\u673a\u5236<\/em>[J] China Legal Science No.6 2019 p.74 \/\u300a\u4e2d\u56fd\u6cd5\u5b66\u300b2019\u5e74\u7b2c6\u671f\uff0c\u7b2c74\u9875. \u2191<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n
      12. See State Council\/\u56fd\u52a1\u9662\uff0cGeneral Plan over Chongqing Pilot Free Trade Zone\/\u4e2d\u56fd\uff08\u91cd\u5e86\uff09\u81ea\u7531\u8d38\u6613\u8bd5\u9a8c\u533a\u603b\u4f53\u65b9\u6848<\/em>\uff0cGuo Fa [2017] No.19\/\u56fd\u53d1\u30142017\u301519\u53f7, https:\/\/www.pkulaw.com\/en_law\/73edfe6b6769d502bdfb.html?keyword=%E4%B8%AD%E5%9B%BD%EF%BC%88%E9%87%8D%E5%BA%86%EF%BC%89%E8%87%AA%E7%94%B1%E8%B4%B8%E6%98%93%E8%AF%95%E9%AA%8C%E5%8C%BA%E6%80%BB%E4%BD%93%E6%96%B9%E6%A1%88<\/a> . \u2191<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n
      13. See Chongqing Government\/\u91cd\u5e86\u5e02\u653f\u5e9c, Regulations of China (Chongqing) Pilot Free Trade\/\u4e2d\u56fd\uff08\u91cd\u5e86\uff09\u81ea\u7531\u8d38\u6613\u8bd5\u9a8c\u533a\u6761\u4f8b<\/em>\uff0c16 Oct. 2019, http:\/\/sww.cq.gov.cn\/zymyq\/zcfg\/zcfg_111645\/202008\/t20200804_7750869.html<\/a> . \u2191<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n
      14. See Huang Guanghua\/\u9ec4\u5149\u534e, The pioneer of adopting international railway bill of lading as letter of credit\/ \u9996\u521b\u94c1\u8def\u63d0\u5355\u56fd\u9645\u4fe1\u7528\u8bc1<\/em>, Chongqing Daily\/\u91cd\u5e86\u65e5\u62a5\uff0c26 Dec. 2017, https:\/\/epaper.cqrb.cn\/cqrb\/2017-12\/26\/013\/content_190066.htm<\/a> . \u2191<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n
      15. See Li Pan, Wang Qiong, Niu Binjing\/\u674e\u6500\u3001\u738b\u743c\u3001\u725b\u5f6c\u5a67\uff0cComparative Study on Innovative Mechanism of Railway Consignment Notes Financing\/\u57fa\u4e8e\u94c1\u8def\u8d27\u8fd0\u80cc\u666f\u7684\u94c1\u8def\u8fd0\u5355\u878d\u8d44\u521b\u65b0\u6a21\u5f0f\u5bf9\u6bd4\u7814\u7a76<\/em>[J] Corporate Technology and Development No.12 2021, p.95 \/\u300a\u4f01\u4e1a\u79d1\u6280\u4e0e\u53d1\u5c55\u300b2021\u5e74\u7b2c12\u671f\uff0c\u7b2c95\u9875. \u2191<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n
      16. See Xie Li\/\u8c22\u529b\uff0cChongqing Shapingba District advances solidly on constructing the connecting point of the Belt and Road Initiative and Free Trade Zone\/\u91cd\u5e86\u5e02\u6c99\u576a\u575d\u533a\u624e\u5b9e\u63a8\u8fdb\u2018\u4e00\u5e26\u4e00\u8def\u2019\u8fde\u63a5\u70b9\u548c\u81ea\u8d38\u533a\u5efa\u8bbe<\/em>, Liangjiang News\/\u4e24\u6c5f\u65b0\u95fb\u7f51\uff0c23 Aug. 2017, http:\/\/www.liangjiang.gov.cn\/Content\/2017-08\/23\/content_373297.htm<\/a> . \u2191<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n
      17. See Jia Ke\/\u8d3e\u79d1\uff0cA New Exploration of Overland Trade Regulations Based on the First Railway Bill of Lading Case\/\u4ece\u9996\u4f8b\u94c1\u8def\u63d0\u5355\u7ea0\u7eb7\u6848\u770b\u9646\u4e0a\u56fd\u9645\u8d38\u6613\u89c4\u5236\u7684\u65b0\u63a2\u7d22<\/em>, China Court Website\/\u4e2d\u56fd\u6cd5\u9662\u7f51\uff0c31 Mar. 2022, https:\/\/www.chinacourt.org\/article\/detail\/2022\/03\/id\/6609421.shtml<\/a> . \u2191<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n
      18. Id.<\/em> \u2191<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n
      19. See Chongqing Logistics Financial Service Co. Ltd. Finally Launched! The Creation of Logistics Financial Ecosystem\/\u91cd\u5e86\u7269\u6d41\u91d1\u878d\u670d\u52a1\u516c\u53f8\u6b63\u5f0f\u6210\u7acb\uff01\u6253\u9020\u91cd\u5e86\u7269\u6d41\u91d1\u878d\u751f\u6001\u5708<\/em>, Sohu News\/\u641c\u72d0\u7f51\uff0c6 Dec. 2017, https:\/\/www.sohu.com\/a\/212769484_482003<\/a> . \u2191<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n
      20. See Yan Ziqiao, Li Yue, Signaling through government subsidy: Certification or endorsement<\/em>[J]Finance Research Letters, Volume 25, 2018, P 90, https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.frl.2017.10.007<\/a>. \u2191<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n
      21. See supra note 15. \u2191<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n
      22. See the People\u2019s Bank of China Chongqing Operations Office, The People\u2019s Bank of China Chongqing Operations Office Together with other 9 departments launched Guidance on Financing Railway Bill of lading to Help Promote the Development of Chongqing Overland Trade\/\u4eba\u6c11\u94f6\u884c\u91cd\u5e86\u8425\u7ba1\u90e8\u7b499\u90e8\u95e8\u8054\u5408\u5370\u53d1\u8fd0\u5355\u878d\u8d44\u6307\u5bfc\u610f\u89c1 \u52a9\u63a8\u91cd\u5e86\u9646\u4e0a\u8d38\u6613\u52a0\u5feb\u53d1\u5c55<\/em>, The People\u2019s Bank of China Chongqing Operations Office Official Website\/\u4e2d\u56fd\u4eba\u6c11\u94f6\u884c\u91cd\u5e86\u8425\u7ba1\u90e8\u5b98\u7f51\uff0c04 Jan. 2018, http:\/\/chongqing.pbc.gov.cn\/chongqing\/107665\/3456329\/index.html<\/a> . \u2191<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n
      23. See supra note 10. \u2191<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n
      24. See National Development and Reform Commission\/\u56fd\u5bb6\u53d1\u6539\u59d4\uff0cThe Framework Plan for New Land and Marine Routes for Western Regions\/\u897f\u90e8\u9646\u6d77\u65b0\u901a\u9053\u6574\u4f53\u89c4\u5212<\/em>\uff0cFa Gai Ji Chu[2019] No.1333\/\u53d1\u6539\u57fa\u7840\u30142019\u30151333\u53f7,https:\/\/www.pkulaw.com\/en_law\/aab1a5bcc5cdbb9abdfb.html?keyword=%E8%A5%BF%E9%83%A8%E9%99%86%E6%B5%B7%E6%96%B0%E9%80%9A%E9%81%93%E6%95%B4%E4%BD%93%E8%A7%84%E5%88%92<\/a> . \u2191<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n
      25. Possible future work on railway consignment notes \u2013 Note by the Secretariat (A\/CN.9\/1034), para. 6. \u2191<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n
      26. See Sichuan Government\/\u56db\u5ddd\u7701\u4eba\u6c11\u653f\u5e9c\uff0cChina (Sichuan) Pilot Free Trade Zone Regulations\/\u300a\u4e2d\u56fd\uff08\u56db\u5ddd\uff09\u81ea\u7531\u8d38\u6613\u8bd5\u9a8c\u533a\u6761\u4f8b\u300b<\/em>, http:\/\/www.scftz.gov.cn\/zcfg\/-\/articles\/4262895.shtml<\/a> . \u2191<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n
      27. See China (Heilongjiang) Pilot Free Trade Zone\/\u4e2d\u56fd\uff08\u9ed1\u9f99\u6c5f\uff09\u81ea\u7531\u8d38\u6613\u8bd5\u9a8c\u533a\uff0cCase No.39:\u2018Tie Yintong\u2019the Innovation of Financing Railway Consignment Notes\/\u6848\u4f8b39\uff1a\u2018\u94c1\u94f6\u901a\u2019\u94c1\u8def\u8fd0\u5355\u91d1\u878d\u5316\u521b\u65b0<\/em>\uff0cChina (Heilongjiang) Pilot Free Trade Zone Official Website\/\u4e2d\u56fd\uff08\u9ed1<\/span>\u9f99\u6c5f\uff09\u81ea\u7531\u8d38\u6613\u8bd5\u9a8c\u533a\u5b98\u7f51\uff0c04 Mar. 2021, http:\/\/ftz.hlj.gov.cn\/gjdxal\/491.html<\/a> . \u2191<\/a><\/li>\n
      28. See Introduction of the Chengdu International Railway Porty Investment & Development (Group) Co., Ltd.<\/em>, Chengdu International Railway Porty Investment & Development (Group) Co., Ltd. Official Website, http:\/\/cdirs.cdiport.com\/Jsp\/webIndex\/en_US\/about\/company-profile.jsp<\/a> . \u2191<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n
      29. See Karl Yan, Rethinking China\u2019s quest for railway standardization: competition and complementation<\/em>[J] Journal of Chinese Governance, 2020, p.127. \u2191<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n
      30. See Sichuan Provincial Development and Reform Commission, The Second Typical Case of Promoting Belt and Road Initiatives: Innovating Unified Multimodal Bill of Lading\/\u56db\u5ddd\u7701\u63a8\u8fdb\u2018\u4e00\u5e26\u4e00\u8def\u2019\u5efa\u8bbe\u5de5\u4f5c\u5178\u578b\u6848\u4f8b\u4e4b\u4e8c\u94c1\u8def\u591a\u5f0f\u8054\u8fd0\u201c\u4e00\u5355\u5236\u201d\u91d1\u878d\u521b\u65b0\u8bd5\u70b9<\/em>, Sichuan Provincial Development and Reform Commission Official Website\/\u56db\u5ddd\u7701\u53d1\u5c55\u548c\u6539\u9769\u59d4\u5458\u4f1a\u5b98\u7f51\uff0c02 July, 2020 http:\/\/fgw.sc.gov.cn\/sfgw\/scdt2\/2020\/7\/2\/3b95689cb5e945dfabeef73a0bf11963.shtml<\/a> . \u2191<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n
      31. See Chengdu Administration China (Sichuan) Pilot Free Trade Zone\/\u4e2d\u56fd\uff08\u56db\u5ddd\uff09\u81ea\u7531\u8d38\u6613\u8bd5\u9a8c\u533a\u6210\u90fd\u7ba1\u7406\u59d4\u5458\u4f1a, The First Releasement of Railway Multimodal Transport Document As an International Letter of Credit Russian Pine Wood Transport to China Through Zhong Rong Europe Line\/\u5168\u56fd\u9996\u5355\u56fd\u9645\u94c1\u8def\u8054\u8fd0\u8fd0\u5355\u4f5c\u51ed\u8bc1 \u4fc4\u7f57\u65af\u677e\u6728\u642d\u4e2d\u6b27\u73ed\u5217\u6765\u84c9<\/em>, The People\u2019s Government of Sichuan Province\/\u56db\u5ddd\u7701\u4eba\u6c11\u653f\u5e9c\u5b98\u7f51, 28 Dec., 2018, https:\/\/www.sc.gov.cn\/10462\/12771\/2018\/12\/28\/6a48f2b3556943839bc1f658db316576.shtml<\/a> . \u2191<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n
      32. See General Office of the Ministry of Commerce\/\u5546\u52a1\u90e8\u529e\u516c\u5385, <\/span>Notice by the<\/span> General Office of the Ministry of Commerce of Effectively Conducting Such Work as the Business Recordation of International Freight Forwarders in 2020\/\u5546\u52a1\u90e8\u529e\u516c\u5385\u5173\u4e8e\u505a\u597d2020\u5e74\u5ea6\u56fd\u9645\u8d27\u8fd0\u4ee3\u7406\u4f01\u4e1a\u4e1a\u52a1\u5907\u6848\u7b49\u5de5\u4f5c<\/span><\/em>, Letter No. 1010 [2021] of the General Office of the Ministry of Commerce\/\u5546\u529e\u670d\u8d38\u51fd\u30142021\u3015101\u53f7, https:\/\/www.pkulaw.com\/en_law\/85474c33fca331e1bdfb.html?keyword=%E5%95%86%E5%8A%A1%E9%83%A8%E5%8A%9E%E5%85%AC%E5%8E%85%E5%85%B3%E4%BA%8E%E5%81%9A%E5%A5%BD2020%E5%B9%B4%E5%BA%A6%E5%9B%BD%E9%99%85%E8%B4%A7%E8%BF%90%E4%BB%A3%E7%90%86%E4%BC%81%E4%B8%9A%E4%B8%9A%E5%8A%A1%E5%A4%87%E6%A1%88%E7%AD%89%E5%B7%A5%E4%BD%9C<\/a> \u2191<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n
      33. See Tong Cuilan\/\u4f5f\u7fe0\u5170, Multi-site Pilots on CIFA Bill of Lading\/\u591a\u5730\u8bd5\u70b9CIFA\u591a\u5f0f\u8054\u8fd0\u63d0\u5355<\/em>, China Commercial News\/\u4e2d\u56fd\u5546\u52a1\u65b0\u95fb\u7f51, 24 Sept. 2020, https:\/\/epaper.comnews.cn\/xpaper\/news\/424\/4725\/23694-1.shtml<\/a> . \u2191<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n
      34. See Instruction on the CIFA International Multimodal Transport Bill of Lading<\/em>, China International Freight Forwarder Association Official Site, http:\/\/www.cifa-china.com\/cn\/about-bol.html<\/a> . \u2191<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n
      35. See The Ministry of Commerce of the People\u2019s Republic of China\/\u4e2d\u534e\u4eba\u6c11\u5171\u548c\u56fd\u5546\u52a1\u90e8, Management Measures on International Multimodal Transport Bill of Lading \/\u4e2d\u534e\u4eba\u6c11\u5171\u548c\u56fd\u56fd\u9645\u8d27\u7269\u8fd0\u8f93\u4ee3\u7406\u4e1a\u7ba1\u7406\u89c4\u5b9a\u5b9e\u65bd\u7ec6\u5219<\/em>, http:\/\/www.cifa-china.com\/cn\/bol-manage-rules.html<\/a> . \u2191<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n
      36. See articles on the front page of a CIFA B\/L, http:\/\/www.cifa-china.com\/cn\/about-bol.html<\/a> . \u2191<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n
      37. See CIFA, The Usage of CIFA Bill of Lading\/CIFA\u63d0\u5355\u4f7f\u7528\uff0cChina International Freight Forwarder Association Official Site<\/em>, http:\/\/www.cifa-china.com\/cn\/bol-usage.html<\/a> \u2191<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n
      38. See supra note 32. \u2191<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n
      39. See supra note 33. \u2191<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n
      40. See Susan Finder, Supreme People\u2019s Court Updates Its Belt & Road Policies<\/em>, Supreme People\u2019s Court Monitor, 28th<\/sup> Jan. 2020, https:\/\/supremepeoplescourtmonitor.com\/2020\/01\/28\/supreme-peoples-court-updates-its-belt-road-policies\/<\/a> \u2191<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n
      41. See the Supreme People\u2019s Court, Opinion on providing services and guarantees for the Belt and Road Initiatives\/\u5173\u4e8e\u4eba\u6c11\u6cd5\u9662\u8fdb\u4e00\u6b65\u4e3a\u2018\u4e00\u5e26\u4e00\u8def\u2019\u5efa\u8bbe\u63d0\u4f9b\u53f8\u6cd5\u670d\u52a1\u548c\u4fdd\u969c\u7684\u610f\u89c1<\/em>\uff0cThe Supreme People\u2019s Court of the People\u2019s Republic of China Official Site, 27th<\/sup> Dec. 2019, https:\/\/www.court.gov.cn\/fabu-xiangqing-212931.html<\/a> \u2191<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n
      42. See supra note 5. \u2191<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n
      43. See Susan Finder, \u201cSupreme People\u2019s Court to Issue White Paper on Judicial Review of Arbitration and Related Model Cases\u201d, Supreme People\u2019s Court Monitor , 28th<\/sup> Aug. 2020, https:\/\/supremepeoplescourtmonitor.com\/2020\/08\/27\/supreme-peoples-court-to-issue-white-paper-on-judicial-review-of-arbitration-and-related-model-cases\/<\/a> \u2191<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n
      44. See the Supreme People\u2019s Court, \u201cThe Third Group of Model Cases Involving Building of the \u2018Belt and Road\u2019\/\u7b2c\u4e09\u6279\u6d89\u2018\u4e00\u5e26\u4e00\u8def\u2019\u5efa\u8bbe\u5178\u578b\u6848\u4f8b\u201d, 28th<\/sup> Feb., 2022, https:\/\/www.court.gov.cn\/zixun-xiangqing-347711.html<\/a> \u2191<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n
      45. Id. <\/em> \u2191<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n
      46. Id.<\/em> \u2191<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n
      47. Id.<\/em> \u2191<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n
      48. Id.<\/em> \u2191<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n
      49. See China Maritime Arbitration Commission, \u201cThe First Session of China Railway Express Law Forum\/\u9996\u5c4a\u4e2d\u6b27\u73ed\u5217\u6cd5\u6cbb\u8bba\u575b\u201d, 28 Jan. 2021, https:\/\/mp.weixin.qq.com\/s\/rB2qV8_0ZIqZxX6wSv7jMQ<\/a> . \u2191<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n
      50. See Uniform Rules concerning the Contract for International Carriage of Goods by Rail, Appendix B to COTIF(\u201cCIM-COTIF\u201d), as amended by the Protocol of Modification of 1999, www.cit-rail.org\/en\/rail-transport-law\/cotif\/<\/a> \u2191<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n
      51. See supra note 5. \u2191<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n
      52. See United Nations Treaty Collection, United Nations Convention on International Multimodal Transport of Goods, https:\/\/www.google.com.hk\/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwiD-ffXw7H4AhWRzIsBHUfjAmEQFnoECAQQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Ftreaties.un.org%2Fpages%2FViewDetails.aspx%3Fsrc%3DTREATY%26mtdsg_no%3DXI-E-1%26chapter%3D11%26clang%3D_en&usg=AOvVaw1TQVfLndQqxGOEVtYMiNrd<\/a> \u2191<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n
      53. See UNCTAD, UNCTAD\/ICC Rules for Multimodal Transport Document, 7 January 1992, TRADE\/WP.4\/INF.117\/CORR.1, UNCTAD\/ICC Rules for Multimodal Transport Documents<\/a> . \u2191<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n
      54. See Organization for Co-operation Between Railways, Report on the Activities of the Organization for Co-operation between railways for 2019<\/em>, https:\/\/en.osjd.org\/en\/9194<\/a> . \u2191<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n
      55. See supra note 25. \u2191<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n
      56. See UNECE, Unified Railway Law: Breakthrough towards a Euro-Asian and even a global legal regime for rail transport<\/em>, 28 February 2013, https:\/\/unece.org\/transport\/press\/unified-railway-law-breakthrough-towards-euro-asian-and-even-global-legal-regime#:~:text=The%20Unified%20Railway%20Law%20would%20bridge%20the%20two,landlocked%20countries%2C%20despite%20having%20access%20to%20sea%20ports<\/a>. \u2191<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n
      57. See UNECE, Proposal on provisions about a negotiable transport document in the URL<\/em>, 7 Aug. 2019, ECE\/TRANS\/SC.2\/GEURL\/2019\/16, ECE-TRANS-SC2-GEURL-2019-16e.pdf (unece.org)<\/a> . \u2191<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

         <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        Zhang Huiyu \u5f20\u60e0\u5b87 Peking University School of Transnational Law Table of Contents ABSTRACT 2 INTRODUCTION 2 SECTION I. Development of the \u201cRailway Bill of Lading\u201d System: from domestic practice to international proposal 5 A. Starting Point: Chongqing Practice and Sichuan Practice constitute the \u201cdual-track\u201d of the Chinese railway \u201cbill of lading\u201d system 5 1. Chongqing … Continue reading The Export of the Chinese Railway \u201cBill of Lading\u201d System: A Milestone in China\u2019s Global Rule-Making?<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[119,120],"tags":[127,128],"class_list":["post-1813","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-belt-road-initiative","category-railway-bill-of-lading","tag-belt-road","tag-global-governance"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pgBdw4-tf","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stllawreviewblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1813","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stllawreviewblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stllawreviewblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stllawreviewblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stllawreviewblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1813"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/stllawreviewblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1813\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2022,"href":"https:\/\/stllawreviewblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1813\/revisions\/2022"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stllawreviewblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1813"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stllawreviewblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1813"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stllawreviewblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1813"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}